NEW INFO: Funeral For Tarboro Hunting Accident

The 12-year-old Tarboro boy killed while hunting with relatives will be laid to rest Monday.

James Parker's funeral is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday at the Tarboro Church of God.

Parker died Friday after he was shot accidentally while hunting with relatives. Wildlife officers planned to discuss the case with prosecutors before deciding whether to press charges against the boy's uncle.

Previous StoryAuthorities say a 12-year-old Tarboro boy killed while hunting with relatives in Wake Forest was accidentally shot by his uncle.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission officers said Friday that 30-year-old Jason Matthews Parker accidentally shot his nephew, James Lee Parker, with a 12-gauge shotgun during the excursion.

An agency spokesman said Jason Parker hadn't taken a hunting education course that's supposed to be mandatory to get a hunting license. Wildlife officers planned to discuss the case with prosecutors before deciding whether to press charges.

Relatives say the boy was hunting deer with his father, uncle and 16-year-old cousin when he was shot just before 8 a.m. Friday. The boy's father called 911 to report the shooting.

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Multiple media outlets are reporting authorities have identified a boy's uncle, 30-year-old Jason Harper, as the one who accidentally shot and killed the 12-year-old Tarboro boy while hunting with his family in Wake Forest.

North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission officers reportedly said preliminary findings show Harper accidentally shot his nephew, James Lee Parker, with a 12-gauge shotgun during the excursion Friday morning. in the torso. Commission representatives say Harper improperly acquired a hunting license and failed to take the mandatory course required. A spokesman for the agency told media outlets Harper was not charged.

Parker was hunting deer with his dad, Harper, and 16-year-old stepbrother when he was shot Friday morning.

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Authorities say a 12-year-old Tarboro boy has been shot and killed in a hunting accident in Wake Forest.

Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison says the shooting happened in the Falls Lake Recreation Area at around 7:30 a.m. on Friday.

James Parker was hunting deer with his father, uncle and stepbrother when he was shot in the upper body.

Harrison says the boy was about 100 yards into the woods when he was shot. Authorities said the boy's father called 911 to report the shooting.

Parker was a 7th grader at Phillips Middle School in Battleboro. "James was an example of a model student that all teachers and principals want in their school and classroom; he will be extraordinarily missed at Phillips," said Principal Donnell Brown.

A crisis team will be sent to the school on Wednesday when students return from Christmas break.

"This is such a tragic loss," said Superintendent John Farrelly. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the family during this time."

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission says so far this hunting season there have been three hunting deaths. One from a tree stand fall, another that may be a possible homicide and the one today.

Last year there were five fatalities, three of those firearm-related.

Major Chris Huebner says child hunting fatalities are not that common, though the last one happened in 2011.

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